Nelson, John Andrew 'Waldron'

Upon the outbreak of World War One (4 August 1914), German colonies and the German fleet in the Pacific became of significant strategic importance, and the German squadron was a menace to Australian shipping and seaboard towns.

Perhaps this was the trigger for Jamberoo local John Andrew Waldron Nelson, then aged 24, to be among the first wave of Australians recruits, when he joined up on 12 August 1914. He and 1500 others embarked on the troop ship HMAS Berrima on 19 August 1914, headed to Rabaul, PNG. This was the first force ever to leave Australia with its own ships, under the command of Australian officers.

Waldron Nelson participated in the first Australian conflict of the war, at Rabaul, and returned to Sydney some eight weeks later in charge of 81 German prisoners.

Nelson returned to Rabaul not long after, but not before there was a farewell held for him and others at the Jamberoo School of Arts, where he was presented with a sheepskin vest from the local Red Cross Society.

Once back at Rabaul, Nelson was promoted to Sergeant and secured a position with the First British Administration Treasury. However, soon after, he contracted malaria, with the rest of his military career being hampered by ill health.

While still a soldier in the A.I.F., Nelson, then aged 29, married 20-year-old Josephine Wyborn in September 1919, in Sussex.

Waldron Nelson had survived the Great War, but his son was not so fortunate during the hostilities of 1939-1945; Lieut. Rupert Nelson was killed in action in Borneo, aged 18.